The front ones have instrument input as an added toggle (for guitars and such), but aside from that there is no difference between the front and back inputs. All can be switched between mic and line level inputs at will.
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After one day using this interface I’m… very happy! No audio problems that my ears would notice. I find the sound very clean, also when using the preamps. There are many reviews out there that insist on the same good points (that so far I’m confirming) and there are more factors that fit very well with what I was looking for:
- Everything works on Linux. I used my windows partition to update the firmware and set the default routings, and that was all I had to do before running it on Linux plug & play.
- I find this single knob UI very well done. Easy to get in and in just one day I’m using it without thinking much. I was a bit skeptical, and initially I was looking for an interface that would offer several knobs for inputs for direct access.
- The buttons have a good feeling. This is something that no video can tell. It’s an important detail considering that with the single know you use those buttons regularly.
- The whole build has good feeling.
- Standalone mode (use with computer switched off) is priceless, and it was a requirement in my search. Very easy to set up.
- The device sits on top of four small legs and there is enough gap to pass a regular cable underneath. This small detail allows me to put a controller right in front with a small separation, and its USB cable just vanishes underneath, remaining straight and contributing to keeping the desk visually cleaner.
- It’s my first rack form factor device and I was concerned about the surface it takes on the desk. Then I saw that Audient places an iMac-like monitor on top of it in their advertisement. These monitors aren’t light, so I have placed a not light either synth on top and I’m happy with the result. No extra space taken on my desk!
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That’s great! I think I suffered by being an early adopter.
Have they changed the way gain/volume access works from the front panel (see my post above - Audient evo 16 - new audio interface - #16 by Boxymusic)?
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I think the functionality is the same as you describe but isn’t that the normal setup of an interface? I’m no expert either, but in my case it works. From the device you can control de gain input of each channel, and then the volume of the outputs (headsets and speakers).
You can set a default volume for each channel in the Audient mixer on your PC. I set them to 0 dB, and that’s all I did. If I’m using the DAW, I tweak the volume of each channel in the DAW. If I’m not using the DAW (i.e. standalone) then channel gain + speakers/headsets volume works for me.
When I had it you could only control the volume output, not the gain input from the front panel. Which meant you couldn’t stop something from clipping by turning a knob, only reduce the loudness with which you could hear that clipping!
Highly possible I was being a dufus, but I did make that assumption at the time and couldn’t figure it out.
That would be really weird… Can you control the input gain at all then?
I don’t have it anymore because of all of the various other issues I listed earlier in the thread (including hardware issues confirmed by EVO) - but I literally bough it the day it came out, so there’s a very good chance it was all teething issues.
Didn’t you just clip the output of your (digital) instrument?
No matter what, now you can control gain input and volume output from the device itself, without needing the computer (at all, can be done standalone as well).
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Maybe it was the other way around to what I was saying… but in any case
- sounds like its not an issue now -which is great!
- that’s not why I sent it back, it was because of the ground noise issues
- good chance I didn’t get to know it well enough, I spend most of my time trying to isolate the very audible noise
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Does anyone use the EO SP8 with the EVO 16?
Wonder about the quality of the unit/preamps.
It is the EVO16 without the audio interface, so if you like how the EVO16 is, you should also enjoy the SP8.
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Has anyone here used the standalone mode much?
If I understand right you setup the routing in the software and save it to the device where it persists until you connect the EVO to the computer again?
Is it possible to save routings as a presets in the software?
Just wondering how straightforward it is in practice to regularly use it in standalone mode as a basic mixer for monitoring?
Correct.
Yes, but you can only save one preset at a time for standalone. In your computer you can save as many presets as you want. They are just files that you can save and load.
For standalone, you might find a bit of flexibility using the different Cue mixes available, but I believe that’s it. For instance, I have a master mix involving headphone 1 and then a Cue mix involving headphone 2. When I want to change, I plug the headphones in the other slot. Works for me in my simple setup.
I’m no expert, but I think this is a very decent mixer for monitoring, since you have all the basic controls available through the UI: volume/gain, phantom, alternative speakers… The possibility of mixing without a computer was one main reason why I went for the Evo 16, and I’m happy with it.
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Thanks for the info, I currently have a combination of an audio interface, an adat expander, a patchbay and a 19inch rack mixer to deal with the old hassle of having the ability to work with or without the computer without much recabling hassle.
I’m always looking for options to simplify and slim it down but most options are too expensive or have too many shortcomings.
If the standalone mixer mode remembers all the digital routing as well this one could potentially work really well for me. I’m picturing having the interface at my main desk and the expander at my second desk (with just the single adat cables joining the stations).
It does in theory but I couldn’t test this because I don’t have any digital connections. As far as I can see, the standalone mode is simply a saved state of a full configuration, which is injected to the Evo 16 as default configuration booting up. When the device is turned on, first it checks whether the Evo mixer is available and loads that. If no Evo mixer is found (because the unit is not connected to a computer, or the computer doesn’t have the mixer) then it loads the configuration saved as standalone.
I have it on my desktop and I can reach easily all the functionality available through the buttons and the knob. I use Linux, which means that the unit is working in standalone all time. I used the Evo mixer with a Windows partition at the beginning as I was tuning my setup, but nowadays I barely have any reason to touch the software mixer, as I do almost everything I need with the hardware interface.
PS: and I have a synth on top of the Evo 16 in my desk so, technically, it isn’t taking any extra surface. 
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Unfortunately my EVO 16 is completely dead. I haven’t had the chance to use it for a few weeks, but ever since I got it (August), it’s felt a little bit dodgy in the main connection at the back. Now it just won’t turn on at all. Sad times!
Hey,
Does anyone know in standalone mode, can you use 8 ins and 8 outs simultanious? I would like to connect it to my babyface for 8ins and 8 outs extra.
I’m thinking about buying an Evo 16 or SP8.
I’m wondering if the following is possible:
I would like to connect 1 set of ADAT in/outs to my RME Digiface USB for studio use in my DAW AND connect 1 set of ADAT in/outs to my Push 3 Standalone, so I can use it DAWless with my Push 3 without having to disconnect/reconnect any cables.
So is it possible to have the Evo 16 or Evo SP8 route all of its analog inputs to both ADAT outputs and also route both ADAT inputs to all of its analog outputs?